1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to bicycles and other devices used to travel from place to place and during such travel to also exercise portions of the body. The new device provides a bicycle which may be powered by the movement of a lever by the bicycle rider and also may incorporate foot pedals. The rider primarily uses the upper body muscle power to operate the lever. The whole body may be used to power the bicycle with the use of foot pedals.
2. Description of Related Art
There are currently in use various cycles whether two, three or four wheel devices which have hand levers to operate the cycle. Generally these cycles have a pair of levers which alternately are pushed and pulled to cause a rotating gear element associated with a wheel shaft to translate the back and forth longitudinal motion into rotation to turn a wheel. Such means to power are also well known in the small toy cars for children which use foot peddles in a similar manner to turn the back wheels of the toy car.
The present invention uses a single lever action which to the bicycle rider is an up and down power motion. This lever movement is used to rotate a modified bicycle sprocket wheel which is chain and sprocket wheel linked to the rear wheel of the bicycle. The bicycle rider moves the handle bar up and down by use of his/her hands and arms and can use the whole body by lifting up off the bicycle seat. In an alternate embodiment foot pedals are used in the conventional manner in combination with the hand lever action. In this manner with either embodiment the whole body may be exercised rather than just the legs as in the traditional bicycle.